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As the Challenge Tour season gathers pace towards a summer of compelling action, the great and the good of European golf’s second tier will descend upon GC Schloss Finkenstein for the very first time from May 22-25.

In an effort to showcase the 12 Carinthian golf courses located in the southern most part of Austria, the sixth edition of the Kärnten GolfOpen presented by Mazda has added this latest venue to its roster, having been played at GC Klagenfurt-Seltenheim a year ago.

Closely bordering Italy and Slovenia and surrounded by a picturesque mountain landscape, this year promises to be another exciting instalment as the next generation of emerging talent looks to follow in the footsteps of last year’s winner, Dylan Frittelli.

Mark Litton, Tournament Director of the Kärnten Golf Open presented by Mazda, said: “On behalf of the European Challenge Tour, it was a real pleasure to visit the new venue for the forthcoming Kärnten Golf Open. This year‘s venue impressed me immensely considering how recently it had been covered in snow, and I know it will be in superb condition when the event comes around.

“The facilities available to the players are first class, and I‘m sure the tournament will be enjoyed by the players.“

Ahead of this year’s event, there is a real buzz around the new venue and the head greenkeeper at GC Shloss Finkenstein, Helmut Buxbaum, is excited to showcase the course to an international audience.

He said: “Having the European Challenge Tour on our course is a big honour for us, and we will do our best to make the course fit for the stars of the future. We will grow some rough and we will speed up the greens, so the guys will have to bring their best game to Finkenstein.“

Peter Hostäetter, from the promoter TICON Sports, is always trying to improve the tournament year on year, and hopes that the sixth edition will be the best yet.

He said: “Our event is known as having one of the warmest receiptions to players and officials, providing the utmost care and hospitality throughout the whole week, and this will be exactly the same this year in Finkenstein.“

As in previous years, there will be a Mazda on offer as a hole in one prize for the weekend, as well as in the Pro-Am on the Wednesday, which promises to be an exciting event with several NHL ice hockey players teeing it up alongside Austrian skiing legend Franz Klammer.